Metro reviews

Tuesday, October 14, 2008 - Toast is a new bar and restaurant that's situated beneath a block of flats in the financial district of Leeds. Other than its proximity to offices and flats, there's nothing particularly appealing about its location. Quite the opposite, in fact, as it's also slap bang on the site of the ill-fated Lumiere skyscrapers, and as we approached Toast, we were confronted by the wall of imposing bollards that encases the abandoned construction area.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008 - In Glasgow, Ketchup is a bright new burger bar that is doing a good job of polishing the reputation of the hamburger. It's a G1 operation in the former Cul De Sac premises on Ashton Lane and it's pretty impressive. The place creates a happy impression before you even get through the door. Boxes of vibrantly coloured tomatoes, peppers and chillies sit on the porch and sell customers the idea that the food inside is fresh rather than frozen.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008 - You can really feel the love that's gone into The Promised Land. With a name like that, what else would you expect? Opened last month by Nick Davidson and Alan Savory in the spot that Benedicto's Italian restaurant used to occupy, this new Cardiff bar has got a vibe that you can't help but warm to.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008 - It's been a juddery start for The Vaults. When Metro reviewed it shortly after its launch, we were irritated by its slap-dash attitude, the chef's 'supplier problems' and an ineptly cooked side order of vegetables. But that was nine months ago and, after a period of uncertainty, we noticed with interest the arrival of a new head chef. Sean Kyle was on Raymond Blanc's team at Le Manoir Aux Quat'Saisons, and also at Bank, so we thought he might know a thing or two about cooking vegetables. His new menu is upmarket brasserie fare; ambitious but not scarily pretentious.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008 - These days, wherever there is Jamie Oliver, there is hype. Queues around the block, despite drizzling rain, to get into his new restaurant in Bath last week seemed the least of it. Unless you're a party of eight or more, Jamie's Italian doesn't take bookings but if you've ever tried to get a table at Fifteen in Cornwall and been asked which year that's for, you'll agree that's a bit of a godsend.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008 - Tierra Brindisa is not an operation ever likely to be caught on the hop. Within a couple of weeks of opening, it's already running like clockwork, bursting at the seams with Soho's early adopters – diners rhubarbing away about green-lighting and optioning and other self-important whatnot.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008 - If only the economy was as sturdy as Chez Jules. Whether the country is basking in the sunshine of a financial boom or staring into the chasm of recession, this French bistro has appeared to be bustling with happy diners ever since it opened in 1995.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008 - There are no prizes for guessing the type of food they serve at Al Dente on Edinburgh's Easter Road. What is more surprising is that Al Dente is there at all. The site used to be occupied by Giancarlo Tinelli's restaurant and Tinelli's had been there forever. The tiny trattoria had been around so long it seemed to be a permanent part of the fabric of the city – like the Scott Monument or the castle or congestion…

Tuesday, September 09, 2008 - The bar and restaurant both look striking, although the latter has so many mirrors that all but the most vain of diners might want to tart themselves up before making a booking. Situated on the first floor, it has tall wrap-around windows that look out to the Castle and along Princes Street. Slightly separated from the rest of the dining room by organza curtains, there are three eye-catching booths for large groups, but the real centrepiece of the room is the glass sculpture that hangs from the restaurant ceiling and down through an oval cut in the floor into the bar below.

Tuesday, July 01, 2008 - Mark Hix is a man with many stellar connections; as the dude behind the Caprice Holdings kitchens (The Ivy, Scott's, J Sheekey and, of course, Le Caprice) he's hobbed and nobbed with le tout London. Surely this can't be why he's received little but slavering reviews since opening this, his first self-owned restaurant?